Day-tripping it to a Reenactment

Us kids had a lovely day at a reenactment.  Mom and Dad celebrated their 30th anniversary that day so they were thankful to have the house to themselves!  Here are some pictures, but remember what you don't see are the mosquitoes....mosquitoes as big as bumble bees and just about as painful.  I counted 26 bites on my upper back! 

Heather looking lovely as she gets our lunch set out.

:peek-a-boo:

Gracie took this one.  Leah enjoyed being on my lap that day!  Aw!  She is a sweetie. 

 Faith in a darling hat and lovely dress.

 Leah Mei.

Emma resting on her daddy's knee.

 Yes, aunties love playing with their nieces!

 Owens very first reenactment and boy, was he a trooper! 

 Father and son.

 Sleeping babies are a JOY to hold!

Natalie looked simply darling all day.  She is a charmer indeed!

 Yes, it did rain!  I mean RAIN! You know, the big drops for hours...that kind of rain...rain that gets everything wet and very DAMP!  So the girlies took their school work to a tent and finished their lessons in relative dryness.

 Faith showing her drawing.

 Sarah waiting for another word to spell.

Isn't Alyssa's drawing charming?  She used her pencil and chalk very well!

The rain didn't stop Lydia!  She LOVED using the parasol! 

Here is our parting shot!  Gotcha!

Independence Day Party

We were charmed and delighted to spend the 4th of July with dear friends.  We treasure these special memories with God's people.

 On the way to the party we saw these stunning flags lining an intersection.

 Gathered and ready for a feast!

 Eagerly waiting!

 Heather made this lovely jello!  Red, white and blue!  (Dianna, recognize the bowl?)

 The abundance God has provided for us to share this day!  What a bounty of food!

Johanna getting her plate ready.

 Enjoying good books together.

 A most DELICIOUS Boston cream cake!  Grace H. made it and I'm going to request it for a future gathering!!!  ::hint::  Grace, I know you're going to read this!  

 Then us girls had fun doing a photo shoot together.  This is all the girls in our 3 families.  (Except the married ones!)

 Smile!

 Don't smile!

 Football time for the girls?  Yep! 

 Great pose Mikaela!

Zachariah and Leah enjoying their new fence!

A Sneak Peek at our Weekend!

::PEEK::

Home Education Conference!

We were able to attend and volunteer at our states Home Education Conference for two days.  There was about 2,200 people there.

Future men!

Heather talking with another Heather and her daughter!  They both make wedding cakes so they conversed for a long time about their common hobby.

Standing at our booth.  We took money for the Exhibit hall both Friday and Saturday.

Isn't she cute?

Yes, conferences may be fun but they are tiring too!

People!

There is our booth there at the end.  

The kids had fun going up one story and looking at all the people milling around below.

My friend Christi wanted to get a good picture of the swinging ball, so I got her picture as she took a picture!

lol!

Precious!

If you look really close in the ball you can see me taking the picture.

After the conference was over we went out to eat with 2 sweet families.  

I "borrowed" Eden's ice cream since it looked like modern art! 

Lydia and Havilah talked together for a long time!  They were so sweet to watch.

Ben enjoyed the "boys".

The "youngers"!  You'd never guess that it was 10:30pm when this was taken and we'd all been up since VERY early.   

New friends!

All of us girls.  Me, Shiloh, Eden, Lydia, Heather, Havilah, Bethany, Elanee, and Yvonne.  They were so fun to be with and made us laugh despite or lack of sleep!  It was a lovely ending to a LONG weekend.  

Celebrating 30 Years Together!

30 years ago right now, my parents were posing for their wedding pictures and today they're gathering with their 12 descendants for a celebration dinner.  My siblings and I are truly blessed to watch our parents strive to glorify God and to bring Him honor with their marriage as they set Him first and cling to Christ.  I pray God will richly bless them as they strive to raise their children to be men and women who will spread the precious word of God to the lost of our world.   Us children pray we will never forsake or forget the truths our parents have taught us and cling to Christ throughout our lives as we raise our own families.

(This dear picture was drawn on an anniversary card by a dear friend for my parents!  Isn't it adorable?)

Strawberry Girl!

Looks like someone had fun at the strawberry field!  Emma was just as dirty but she got cleaned up before I could get her picture....thus Molly is the only one who was caught on camera.